Kiss of Midnight
by Maqeurious
Summary: Sequel to 'Broken Shadows'.  Asked to investigate a possible threat and new species in the Nemean Abyss, Shepard and her team head to the far traverse.  But things don't go as planned.  They rarely do.  Rated for lang.. Established Femshep/Garrus pairing


_And I am back with the sequel to my earlier fanfic, Broken Shadows. _

_Doing a crossover between Mass Effect and AvP will he a hard slog, but I'm in it for the long haul. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the latest adventure of Maqi Shepard and the shit she always seems to get herself involved with._

_Please do the nice thing and comment. Your comments and suggestions are greatly appriciated._

_XXX_

_Maq_

* * *

**A warm welcome**

_**System: Nemean Abyss**_

_**Planet: Besorion**_

_**Day 2: 1630hrs (approx)**_

Shepard couldn't run any more. Her legs were beginning to feel like lead and the uneven ground beneath her feet wasn't helping at all. Every now and then she took the opportunity to glance behind her, trying to spy the creature that was hot on her tail and groaned with frustration as the bushes rustled and the sounds of heavy stamping on the forest floor crushed any hope that it had given up.

She combed the woods in front of her, trying to find a place to hide or climb where could she get out of the creatures line of sight or reach. There was nothing but tall trees to her left, a vast thick forest stretching out into infinity, or so it seemed. Getting lost in there would definitely be the death of her. To her right the landscape was the same, but if she looked hard enough she could make out a slight elevation in the terrain a few hundred meters ahead. Getting to higher ground seemed like the best idea. If not to escape the terrifying monster hot on her heels, then to get a better picture of just where the fuck she was.

Heading towards the hillock she picked up her pace. Angry with herself that she had lost her larger weaponry in the struggle, she was also thankful. The climb was steeper then she thought it was going to be, and between the slippery terrain and her subsiding stamina; the added weight of her guns would make climbing the hill just as difficult.

Reaching the top she was surprised to find a small clearing. It was slightly circular but still covered and protected from the suns rays by the huge canopy of tree tops. Any other day Shepard would have thought it was beautiful. But seeing as how she had a monster just behind her, she thought it better not to dwell on the view and try to hide. She threw herself into one of the many bushes and hunkered down as far as she could. Through the spiderweb-like branches she kept her gaze deadlocked on the gap in the trees from where she had run from. The forest was silent, the only sound was her thundering heartbeat slamming against her chest. Bringing her breathing under control Shepard kept her body tense and ready to flee again if need be. Only then did she allow herself to wonder just how the hell she got into this situation!

The last thing she remembered before being chased by this towering monster was falling from the Kodiak and waking up on a bed of broken branches and leaf litter that she assumed had saved her life as she hit the planet's surface. But before she even had a chance to assess herself and her situation, she was pounced upon by that.. thing? _Just what the fuck was that!_ It was definitely a species she wasn't familiar with, but remembering the snap-shot from her files it was different from the creature she was sent to investigate herself. That didn't help her now, however.

As she knelt in the soggy underbrush her thoughts went to her team. What had happened to them? Did the Kodiak crash? Were they even alive? She remembered Zaeed trying to haul her back into the shuttle and the distant screams as Tali fought the invaders that ambushed them as they attempted to land. There was an explosion, and blood. So much blood. Shepard closed her eyes. She wished so much that Garrus was with her and kicked herself for keeping him back on the Normandy even though he demanded to be a part of this mission. She couldn't blame him really. Ever since their debacle on Mindoir and the whole mess with Sidonis, he was still trying to make it up to her. All he wanted to do was protect her. But typical Shepard. Typical strong, stubborn, bullheaded Shepard refused his offer saying she would be fine. Well, she wasn't looking forward to having _that _

rubbed in her face. If she survived, that is.

Lost deep in her thoughts, Shepard's body went rigid when she felt something wet drip down her neck. Her breath caught as the slimy residue trickled down her back followed by a soft hissing in her ear. Shepard froze, wide eyed. Hot breath brushed against her head whipping dirt encrusted hair into her eyes. As heavy as her legs felt beneath her, everything in her begged her body to run.

_Don't look. Don't look. Just get on your feet and run as fast as you can._

Shepard had never been so terrified. She mentally screamed and ordered her legs into action, but for some reason all the fear she felt settled into her lower limbs and they plainly refused to move. She was actually frozen in fear.

She could smell the creatures rancid breath as it continued to hover over her, and ever so slowly Shepard tilted her head upwards. A thick drip of saliva slid down her cheek.

_This is it. I'm going to be torn to shreds by this.. thing!_

Her eyes settled on the monster's face. It had a long, smooth, banana shaped, gleaming black head propped atop an equally black insect-like body that stood almost two heads as tall as she did. The creatures legs were sharply bent and sporting razor sharp claws that dug deeply into the dank forest floor. It held it's arms in front of it, dirt caked claws aimed straight towards her. It lacked eyes, but made up for it in teeth. The creatures mouth was full of long, sharp, menacing looking teeth that dripped and dribbled with hot stringy saliva.

Shepard's heart was fighting to burst forth from her chest as panic swirled in her gut. But still, her body refused to obey her mental commands and all she could do was stare at the gaping maw just inches from her own face.

The creature hissed again, a sound like angry snakes mixed with nails on a chalk board. It's lips curved upwards exposing more of those terrifying teeth as they slowly started to part. Rivulets of saliva dripped like water, and for a brief moment Shepard wondered just how the monster made so much.

_Crunch time Shepard! It's now or never, damn it!_

As it bared it's teeth, the enormous creature leaned back on it's haunches. Shepard could see the muscles in it's legs constrict and tighten, like a snake coiling it's body that was about to strike, when above it's elongated head she saw something that brought reality crashing down around her. How could she have missed that! How could she have missed such a brutal looking appendage? Shepard swallowed thickly as the creature whipped it's overly large segmented tail above them both and pointed the sharp looking tip straight at her.

_Fuck..fuck..fuck! MOVE!_

The creature sprang forward quickly, it's tail slicing through the air so fast that Shepard could hear the wind itself being rent apart. Her body came alive instantly, the blood pumping back into her limbs and before she even knew what was happening she was rolling to the side just as the menacing tail struck nothing but empty dirt, kicking up dust and leaves in it's wake. Shepard scrambled to her feet as the creature righted itself, pulling it's tail from the ground and seemed to look straight at her. She had to do something. Anything! Running just wasn't going to cut it. She had to fight. But how? How the hell was she going to kill this enormous monster with only her pistol to back her up?

The creature charged her again, gnashing it's teeth as it reached out for her with long sharp claws. Shepard barely escaped it's clutches as she jumped backwards and rolled to her left, taking the opportunity to pull her Carnifex from it's holster and fire two shots directly at the monster. The first bullet missed and lodged itself into a tree behind the creature, but the second bullet hit home and buried deep into the fleshy underside of the monsters abdomen. A spray of blood gushed from the wound and fell to the forest floor. Shepard allowed herself a slight smile as the creature howled in pain. But as she did so, she noticed the leaf litter on the ground start to fizzle and smoke. Where the blood had fallen and pooled, the turf burned like acid. ACID! The creatures blood, it's mucous-like yellow blood was god-damned corrosive! _What the hell!_

Shaking off the pain, the creature lunged forward again before Shepard could get off another shot. It slammed it's head into her side, lifting her off the ground and sending her flying backwards. She hit hard against one of the many tree trunks and yelped as the wind was knocked out of her when he finally hit the ground. Opening her eyes she saw the creature advancing towards her, it's tail raised high and poised to strike again. It was on her in mere moments. A roar so thunderous rocked the surrounding forest as the creature thrust it's tail at her. Shepard sat up quickly and managed to dip her head just as the sharpened weapon hit the tree trunk supporting her and embedded itself into the thick bark. A moment of relief washed over her as the creature thrashed about, attempting to dislodge it's fearsome tail from it's hold. Shepard took the chance to shuffle under the enormous monster's body, careful not to brush against the still weeping wound and scramble away. She checked her pistol and sighed. Three more rounds in the chamber, and only two full clips left untouched. That meant only fifteen shots altogether.

As the creature struggled to free itself Shepard scoured the forest looking for anything that could help, her heart sinking as time ticked away and nothing made itself evident of the aid she required. But as hope seemed to be lost her attention went up. High above her in the canopy of tree leaves and branches she saw a mess of tangled and twisted vines. She almost choked on her relief.

Behind her, the creature freed itself from the tree trunk and turned to face her. The speed at which it moved took Shepard by surprise as it pounced on her and knocked her to the damp ground. Bringing her arms up to protect her face from the creatures gnashing jaws, she noticed the bullet wound dripping caustic blood straight onto her armors chest plate. It immediately began to fizz. Small wisps of smoke started to rise as the alloy bubbled and smouldered. Shepard could feel the heat penetrating through her lattice.

The creature forced it's heavy bulk on top of her and hissed, it's stringy saliva and hot breath inches from her own. She pushed as hard as she could with her arms and legs to move the considerable weight from her torso, but the monster was proving too strong. It snapped it's jaws at her, the metallic like teeth grazed her cheek drawing a line of blood along the contours of her face. But every time she kicked the creature, it's acidic blood would drip profusely and continue to eat away at her armor. Shepard had to make her move, quickly.

Gathering her energy she let the flow of her biotics surge within her. The power felt like electric pulses bubbling beneath the surface, hot and commanding. If this was going to work, she had to pour as much intensity as she could into one powerful move.

Shepard spied the twisted vines high up in the trees again and taking a deep breath she filled the air around them both with the tell tale blue light. The creature was thrown with devastating force up into the air as Shepard screamed, pushing through the pain as the overwhelming energy of her technique saw the horrible menace hit the vines and become entangled within them. The more the creature struggled, the more it became trapped in the creeping plant, it's thick ropes coiling around slick black limbs. The creature screeched, gnashing it's teeth endlessly in a vein attempt to free itself. Shepard leapt to her feet and aimed her pistol, firing the last three rounds into the trapped hanging body. The creature immediately stopped moving, more of it's blood falling to the ground and burning straight through the forest debris in a puff of smoke.

Remembering the smoldering on her own armor, Shepard quickly unhooked her chest plate and removed it. The creature's blood had almost eaten it's way through the entire thing, even her weave and underclothes had dying scorch marks. But for the moment, she was finally safe.

As she looked up at the dead monster, Shepard tapped her omni-tool and scanned it, storing the creature in her database for later study. Now she had an entirely new problem. She was hopelessly lost and changing the heat-sink in her pistol, only had twelve rounds left to protect herself. She had to find the rest of her equipment, the Kodiak and her team mates. Turning around, she tried to get her bearings. If she followed the trail back the way she came, she should eventually end up back where she had landed.

But as she made the attempt to leave the clearing, she heard the unmistakable skin-crawling hiss from the creature. Shepard had never spun on her heels so quickly. She aimed her gun directly at the creatures head and fired. Once. Twice. But the sound didn't stop. The hissing continued, though this time it seemed louder and... all around her. She swallowed thickly.

From out of the dark murky forest, a little to her left another one of those grotesque creatures emerged. It looked exactly the same as it's dead brethren, only slightly more pissed off - if that was at all possible. She backed away, but was stopped dead in her tracks when that same hissing sounded from behind her. On both sides. One by one the long limbed monsters appeared around her until she was surrounded by four more aggravated, tall and murderous monsters.

Shepard's heart sank and she slowly closed her eyes. Four against one. She had no chance.

She took a deep breath.

Then another.

In her mind the cheeky scowl of Garrus flashed before her, and she grinned. What would_ he_ do? What would he want _her_ to do? She didn't have to wonder long.

Popping her heat-sink and gathering what remaining energy she had for her biotic power, Shepard opened her eyes, stood her ground, grit her teeth and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Bring it on, you fuckers!"

**o.O.o**

The smoking wreck of the Kodiak hung precariously; battered and broken half-way up in a group of trees. It was swaying gently in the slight breeze accompanied by the sounds of creaking metal and dripping coolant. The front end of the shuttle had come away from the crash with little impact damage, but not even the thick plating of the machine could hide the precise holes that pock-marked it. The cockpit was splattered in deep red blood. The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot were still strapped into their seats, but quite evidently dead. From the cargo hold to the back thrusters, the shuttle had almost been torn apart. Lengths of twisted metal jutted dangerously in every direction becoming a deadly rain of spears when and if the shuttle eventually fell.

The crumbled body of Tali lay motionless and face down inside the remains of the hold, surrounded by debris and torn leaves. Her envirosuit was mostly intact, bar the tear in her right leg which seeped with her own deep reddish blood. Below the wreck and splayed out on the forest floor, Zaeed was slowly starting to awaken. Thrown from the shuttle on impact, he winced in pain as he tried to sit up. Something didn't feel right. Pulling himself into a seating position he spat out a wad of thick blood and put his hand to his stomach. It was wet, and sticky.

"Ah.. fuckin' fantastic.." he groaned as he pulled his blood soaked hand away. The wound was bad. Very bad. He shakily got to his feet, putting pressure against the gaping injury and looked around, spying the shuttle.

"Tali!," he yelled, "Oi, Tali!" But his calls went unanswered. Frantic and frustrated, Zaeed fell to his knees. Calling into his ear piece he tried to contact the Normandy, but was only met with static and a crushing sense of doom.

His eyes became blurry, the edges of his vision turning dark and distant. Even the sounds around him seemed to fade in and out. He sat back and let his heavy lethargic body slump to the ground again.

_Great. Just fuckin' great. All the crap I've done in my life and I get taken out by a god damned crash. Fuckin' irony for ya._

He brought his hand up to his face to block out the late afternoon sun and stared at his glistening blood. All that was left to do was wonder how he got here and what was going to happen next. The image of Shepard falling from the Kodiak came to mind. Surviving a fall like that, at such a height was near impossible. But then again, she was Shepard. If the woman could come back from death, a thousand foot fall would probably be a day at the park. Zaeed couldn't help but smile, something within him told him she was still alive.

But as his vision failed and his head swam he wasn't holding out much hope for his own mortality. He was sure even Tali was as good as dead, if she wasn't already. All he could do was lay back and let what was about to happen, happen. Even when a dark shadow fell over his face and a boot kicked the side of his ribs did he let panic overcome him.

Though, before his eyesight completely went and unconsciousness enveloped him, even he couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh when the shadow sneered and pointed what looked like a large pair of twin metallic wrist blades straight at him.


End file.
